The comparison chart above evaluates different aspects of the real estate online courses offered by each institution. We will compare the cost of the courses, the delivery formats, the availability of study groups, and the average passing rate of the online realtor exam, in which states the school is offered and whether or not a course demo is offered.

This tool will help you to determine which is the best real estate school online for you.

The Best Online Real Estate Courses

I'm a curious person. When I started looking for my first house I also looked into becoming an real estate agent myself. I went through the grueling training and finally did it. Now days with education online growing, its best to skip the evening classes at your local community college and study from your own computer.

My name is Mike Davidson and I've been in the real estate business for close to 15 years. As a professionally trained real estate coach, I've helped thousands of real estate agents (residential and commercial alike), appraisers and brokerages achieve their dreams and goals in the industry. I specialize in introducing new technologies, office and team management strategies and I help real estate professionals deal with the pressure of working in this highly competitive and fast paced business.

As a specialist in the real estate industry, I can assure you that the most effective way to insert yourself into the real estate world is through getting a quality real estate education. Not everyone, however, has the ability to go back to college to get a four year real estate degree in the traditional way. Online real estate classes offer an alternative for busy adults and others who don't have the time or the budget to go to college.

In this review, we'll look at the best real estate online courses. You can find plenty of online real estate school reviews on the web, but not all of these were written by top-notch real estate professionals who understand the industry and have personally reviewed the courses offered. Of course, I'll also offer my opinion regarding the best option available.

How to Decide Which Online School to Choose: Important Factors Affecting your Decision

When deciding which school to choose for your real estate classes online it's important to consider a variety of factors.

1. Check If the Online School Offers a Degree for Your State

The most obvious factor is whether or not the online school offers a degree for the state you live in.

Each state has its own licensing education requirements as well as their own real estate exam that one must pass in order to become a certified real estate agent. It is important to investigate each school carefully to see if their real estate course online is recognized by your state's education requirements.

Also, since each state has their own specific information regarding their state certification exam, it is important that you find out if the real estate school online of your choice offers online real estate courses that cover the specific information that your state will test on for the licensing exam.

2. Find an Online School that Supplies the Necessary Tools to Succeed

Passing your state's online exam is only the first step. In order to be successful, you'll also need valuable information about how the real estate industry really works and how to find your niche in a top rate, competitive field. Only a great institution can offer you an education that will allow you to truly succeed.

3. Does the School Offer Preparation for State Exams and Practice Exams?

Furthermore, it is important that you find out if the real estate school online that you're looking to attend offers preparation for state exams and practice exams as part of their curriculum.

Passing your state's real estate exam is the first step you must achieve to make your way into the industry, and the best way to pass the exam is through having gone through various practice trials first.

4. Professors' Availability to Answer to Your Questions

Lastly, you'll need to find out how available your professors are to answer your questions.

The downside of taking online real estate classes is that you lose the direct professor to student interaction that you get in a classroom setting. It is important for you to find out if your professor will be available for individual or group chats to help clear up some of your questions.

Reviews and Features of the Top Online Real Estate Schools

Real Estate Express is the best option for online real estate education on the market. USA Today says that “experts from the field of online learning tell us to expect a wave of educators adapting course and testing delivery for effective delivery on small touch screens. The appeal of true self-paced learning with no location limitations is too big to ignore and Real Estate Express is leading the way.”

Real Estate Express offers very focused online lecture course material that centralizes the most important themes in real estate education. Established in 1996, it has taught over 200,000 students nationwide.

Another perk to Real Estate Express is that they offer a money back guarantee for their test prep course. If you don't pass your state exam after having taken the test prep offered by Real Estate Express, you can request your money back.

#2: Brightwood Real Estate Education formerly Kaplan

The Kaplan Real Estate School has been recognized in numerous national studies as the nation´s number 1 online real estate school. In our experience they are not quite as good as real estate express but a close second. Their courses are offered in 19 states and the preparation for those states' licensing exams is of top-notch quality.

They cover all of the key topics in the real estate business and have expert faculty with years of experience in their respective fields. Many of the faculty at Kaplan are also published authors in the real estate literature field as well.

Furthermore, Kaplan offers technical assistance to prospective students helping you find courses that fit your needs and create a schedule that adapts to your busy life. Kaplan Real Estate courses are a bit more expensive than other options on the web, but the quality of education warrants the extra price.

Professors are available for question and answer sessions by email and promise to respond to your questions within 24 hours. Most importantly, Kaplan offers study groups to help you fully grasp the course material.

Here's a short video that will help you understand how Kaplan's online courses work.

Career Webschool offers self-paced study which makes it ideal for those students who have trouble adapting their lives to rigorous time schedules for online classes. Also, the Career Web School offers a unique Mastery and Fluency methodology which has resulted in high exam pass rates for their students. Classes are offered through interactive tutorials that provide feedback tailored to your individual answers.

Career Webschool's courses start at only $99, but you do lose certain benefits that come with the higher price that Kaplan charges. For example, no video lectures or study groups are offered and interaction with professors is difficult, at best. Various student reviews have also criticized the quality of education offered at Career Webschool.

Allied Schools offers a number of online educational programs, real estate being one of them. They offer a variety of packages that are tailored to your individual educational needs. Besides providing course material for traditional real estate principles and practices, Allied Schools curriculum also offers you a DVD to cram for your state's real estate exam, prep exam questions with a focus on the mathematical aspects of the real estate exam, vocabulary flash cards and a dictionary defining basic real estate terms.

Though their classes are more focused on helping you pass your state licensing exam, they also offer specializations in one of the following areas: Legal aspects of real estate, real estate finance, property management, real estate appraisal, real estate economics, real estate office administration, and escrows.

Chamberlin Real Estate School is a quality online real estate institution that has over 65 years experience in real estate education and offers personal instructor support to their students. We listed it fifth because it only offers courses to students looking to get their real estate license in the state of California.

If you do plan to practice real estate in California, Chamberlin may be the option for you. They offer substantial interaction between instructor and learner and all Chamberlin pre-license students are assigned a “personal instructor” to answer course-related questions. These personal instructors are available via internet or phone from 9 AM to 9 PM seven days a week.

FAQs

Do I need a real estate degree in order to be a real estate agent?

Many people fail to understand that if you want to work in the real estate industry, you'll need to get a real estate degree. A quality real estate degree is only offered by certified real estate colleges. You cannot work in the real estate field without a degree.

Are these online degrees accepted in any state?

Since state laws affect certain real estate related information, each individual state has their own specific requirements for real estate certifications. Your online degree will be tailored to the state that you´re currently living in. Every school that offers realtor courses online will determine what states they offer certification for. Also, if you do change state residency, you'll need to pass your new state's certification in order to be licensed to work in the real estate business in that state.

Are payment plans available?

Schools that offer real estate classes online are generally much less expensive than a traditional four year education at real estate colleges. Despite their lower courses, however, only some schools offer payment plans while others ask for the complete cost of the course to be paid up front.

Conclusion: RealEstateExpress—the Best Online Real Estate School

The best real estate school online without a doubt is Real Estate Express. Despite being a bit more expensive than other options and not offering tuition support or payment plans, they will definitely offer you the most quality online real estate education. RealEstateExpress will prepare you to pass your state's exam by offering numerous full length prep exams. As a student, you can even specifically tailor these practice exams to the areas of specialization you're most interested in.

Interactive study groups with live webinars led by faculty will allow you the opportunity to ask direct questions to your professors and engage in debates with other fellow students. Once you purchase the course, you will have a full six months to access the course material thus allowing you sufficient time to complete your education at your own speed and convenience.

As a leading professional in the real estate industry, I recommend Real Estate Express to all future and prospective real estate workers. Whether you're interested in becoming a real estate agent or starting your own brokerage, they will get you prepared to become successful in whatever area of real estate you choose to enter.

Mike Davidson

Mike Davidson has been in the real estate business since early 2000s. Presently, he works as a real estate coach helping agents and brokerages achieve their goals whilst teaching them a panoply of new technologies, office and team management and how to cope with their job pressure.